Elizabeth Warren is Still Dodging the Middle Class Tax Question

Submitted by asabes on Thursday, September 12th, 2019, 9,19 PM

Democrat presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren yet again dodged questions asking if the middle class would see a tax increase under her proposed “Medicare for All” plan during the ABC debate on Thursday night.

Here is the key exchange:

George Stephanopoulos: “Senator Warren, let me take that to you, particularly on what Senator Biden was saying there about health care. He's praised Bernie Sanders about being candid, says that Senator Sanders has been candid about the fact that middle class taxes are going to go up and most of private insurance is going to be eliminated. Will you make that same admission?”

Elizabeth Warren: [dodge]

Stephanopoulos: “Direct question. You said middle class families are going to pay less. But will middle class taxes go up to for pay for the program? I know you believe the deductibles and premiums go down.”

Warren: [dodge]

Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist said: "If Elizabeth Warren will not admit the obvious—that her wild spending will require broad-based tax hikes on the middle class—in a Democrat debate, will she ever tell the truth in a general election?"

While Warren won't admit that the middle class will pay more in taxes as a result of Medicare for All, Sanders openly admits it.

“Yes, [the middle class] will pay more in taxes,” Sanders said during the June Democratic debate on NBC.

Jeff Greenfield from Politico noted that Warren could be holding back an admission that Medicare for All will lead to higher taxes for the middle class because she is worried about losing voters. Greenfield wrote:

"This leaves an obvious question that will follow her through the campaign: “Bernie Sanders is frank enough to acknowledge the obvious, and then explain it. Why won’t you?” The answer may be as simple as: If you say you will raise middle class taxes, an unmeasurable but likely significant number of voters simply will not bother to wait for the rest of your explanation."

As ATR noted earlier, Medicare for All would require anywhere from $32 trillion and $36 trillion in higher taxes over the course of the next decade.